Author: sybil

Categories
Engagement

How to Re-Engage Employees

“It’s sad, really, how a negative workplace can impact our lives and the way we feel about ourselves. The situation is reaching pandemic heights – most people go to work at jobs they dislike, supervised by people who don’t care about them, and directed by senior leaders who are often clueless about where to take the company.”  – Leigh Branham and Mark Hirschfeld

But there is hope! And you can find it in Branham & Hirschfeld’s new book, Re-Engage: How America’s Best Places to Work Inspire Extra Effort in Extraordinary Times. The authors analyzed millions of surveys from more than 10,000 employers in Quantum Workplace’s massive database used to identify the “Best Paces to Work.” They share the critical clues and insights they found that distinguish what some companies are doing to create and maintain a winning workplace despite a chaotic business climate.

Their analysis revealed six universal drivers of employee engagement:

  • Caring, competent and engaging senior leaders
  • Effective managers who keep employees aligned and engaged
  • Effective teamwork at all levels
  • Job enrichment and professional growth
  • Valuing employee contributions
  • Concern for employee well-being.

Each driver is described in depth and illustrated by winning companies that exemplify these drivers. The authors also share the “voice” of employees working in positive and negative situations with quotes about what employees like and what frustrates them on the job.

What makes Re-Engage particularly relevant is that the authors also provide guidance in the wake of major challenges to workplace engagement, particularly:

  • when a company grows in size (“diseconomies of scale”)
  • increasing workforce age diversity (“generational diversity”)
  • the continuing economic crisis (“turbulent times”).

Recognizing that workplace engagement is not the sole responsibility of managers, Branham & Hirschfeld also devote a chapter to what employees can do for their own self-engagement.

Every once in a while, you find a business book that’s truly rich in insight and guidance – Re-Engage is one such book, and I highly recommend it.

 

Categories
Customer service Marketing

New Report Outlines Priorities for Service Research

I’ll never forget how frustrated I was in my first MBA marketing course. I was working in bank marketing at the time, and the course focused on consumer packaged goods and industrial products that had little relevance to what I was doing on-the-job. Back then (in the late 1970’s) there was no mention of marketing “intangible” services. Now, fortunately, there are complete textbooks, courses, and even graduate concentrations in services marketing.

As my career evolved, so did the emergence of services marketing as a field of study – one that I eagerly embraced in my professional development. The applied science of services marketing and management has grown tremendously thanks to a strong international academic-practitioner partnership.

So I’m happy to share the latest service research priorities developed by academics and business executives that will drive thought leadership to advance the science and practice of service. Why is this important? Because “all businesses are service businesses.”

Here are the top ten overarching service research priorities compiled by the Center for Services Leadership that spearheaded this important endeavor:

• Fostering service infusion and growth.
• Improving well-being through transformative service.
• Creating and maintaining a service culture.
• Stimulating service innovation.
• Enhancing service design.
• Optimizing service networks and value chains.
• Effectively branding and selling services.
• Enhancing the service experience through co-creation.
• Measuring and optimizing the value of service.
• Leveraging technology to advance service.

While all these research priorities are important, here are the two that I’m most excited about (along with related topics identified for further exploration).

Creating and maintaining a service culture:

1. Recruiting, training, and rewarding associates for a sustained service culture.
2. Developing a service mind-set in product-focused organizations.
3. Creating a learning service organization by harnessing employee and customer knowledge.
4. Keeping a service focus as an organization grows, matures, and changes.
5. Globalizing a service organization’s culture across different countries.

Effectively branding and selling services:

1. Effectively branding service and solutions and identifying ways to assess brand value.
2. Developing consistent brand experiences across touch points.
3. Harnessing social media’s impact on service brands.
4. Achieving effective solution selling and defining the new role of the sales force.
5. Forging closer relationships between employees and the brand.

You can learn more in the Research Priorities for the Science of Service CSL Business Report 2010.

Regardless of which topic(s) appeal to you, the study of these “global, interdisciplinary, and business-relevant research priorities” will help advance the science and practice of service management to the benefit of business and consumers.

 

Categories
Engagement Marketing

Internal Marketing Spotlight: SNVC (Part 2)

This post continues my interview with Beth Miller-Herholtz, SNVC’s VP of Corporate Communications, about how her company handles employee engagement and recognition.

QSM: What is your biggest challenge in maintaining a strong organizational culture?

Beth: I think the biggest challenge is also one of our biggest strengths. We have eight unique contracts, and that means eight unique clients … So when we look at our organization culture, we have to consider how our initiatives will be received in the different client cultures.

QSM: How do you effectively engage employees when they spend most of their time working at the client site?

Beth: In our industry, where most of our personnel are onsite with our government client, it’s very easy to build loyalty to the client and forget about the company behind you. To help answer our questions, we turned to Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton’s book, The Carrot Principle, for some insight and guidance. It became the basis for our Awards and Recognition Program. We began to emphasize, both in words and in actions, that the total value of a career is a comprehensive package that includes competitive compensation and benefits along with career development, work/life balance, and an environment that welcomes everyone with talent and determination to be the best. The Recognition Program provides the means to put our words into action — action that celebrates and rewards talent, determination, and innovation.

We incorporated awards to recognize people in key areas – Thought Leadership, Career Service, Professional Development, Innovation, and Special Incentives – all of which contribute to personal growth and corporate growth. Our program is peer-based, so anyone can recommend someone for doing great work or going the extra mile. It incorporates flexibility in that the rewards can be gift cards, W2 compensation/bonuses, or leave hours. Recognition of the individual is done as quickly as possible; in fact, that is a metric we track – how close to the action that deserved the recognition can we say “thanks” or “well done”. Where possible, we engage our client in the recognition, too, so that they see the company behind the employee who is providing that outstanding support. In addition, we announce awards in our monthly e-newsletter, which often includes photos and videos of the event.

QSM: I appreciate your sharing SNVC’s model of engaging employees through recruitment, retention, and recognition. It’s obvious you take great pride in your work at SNVC. Any closing comments?

Beth: Ultimately, our corporate values of Leadership, Commitment, and Integrity are the same three values that laid the foundation for the company back in 1998. Our culture embraces the fact that we remain focused on service to our nation, knowing that our end user is the warfighter, the defender of our homeland. Of that, I think I am most proud.

QSM: Thanks, Beth!

Categories
Engagement

Employee Appreciation Day: Cause for Celebration or Not?

This Friday, March 5, 2010, is designated as Employee Appreciation Day. (Created in 1995 as a way to focus employer attention on employee recognition, this “holiday” is traditionally observed the first Friday in March.)

Truthfully, I have mixed feelings about this day. Effective employee recognition shouldn’t be relegated to a once-a-year event, and smart managers know this. If employee recognition is already part of your organization’s culture and you want to honor this day, then have fun with it. (Here are some additional ideas to consider.)

BUT … if employee appreciation is alien to your workplace, forced observance won’t work. Employees know the difference between lip-service and sincere recognition.

Tell me what you think
Is some recognition better than none?

 

Categories
Engagement Marketing

Employee Engagement Advice for Managers

The new Employee Engagement e-book is now available to help managers and business leaders who want to better engage their employees. It features a compilation of concise advice and helpful tips written by members of the Employee Engagement Network. I was happy to contribute to the book (see page 22), although it was a challenge to select and share engagement advice in a single sentence!

Like its companion book on Employee Engagement, this book is free. So what are you waiting for? Download your free copy and circulate the advice. We need all the help we can get to try to reverse the decline in job satisfaction.

Categories
Engagement Marketing

Why I’m Celebrating This Week

Wow, this is my 5th blog anniversary and 300th post!

It’s been quite a journey, and I’ve learned much from researching and writing content devoted primarily to engaging employees and customers with internal marketing & communications (along with sharing some personal reflections along the way).

It’s also been quite an effort, and I mean that literally. While I consider myself a good writer, it’s a difficult and slow process for me. I’m also terrified of the blank page and sometimes suffer from writer’s block. Then there’s the emotional spectrum I experience ranging from sifting through an overload of ideas to pure panic at not having any relevant content to share.

Despite these writing challenges, the effort is well worth it given the support and feedback from you – my blog readers, fellow bloggers, and thought leaders. I also enjoy the pursuit of continued learning and development in my chosen field.

So stick around and join me for the ride as I continue to write about internal marketing & internal communication for employee engagement, employee satisfaction, leadership … and all things related to creating a workplace dedicated to employee and customer satisfaction.

Categories
Engagement

I Love My Job! (Yeah, right)

Referred to as the “Lost Dr. Seuss Poem,” this has been floating on the web for several years, and it’s the perfect complement to my last post on declining job satisfaction.

Not exactly a workplace Valentine, but it’s worth another look for a chuckle – especially for those who can relate to it (better to laugh than cry … ).

“I love my job, I love the pay!
I love it more and more each day.
I love my boss he is the best!
I love his boss and all the rest.

“I love my office and its location, I hate to have to go on vacation.
I love my furniture, drab and gray, and piles of paper that grow each day.
I think my job is really swell, there’s nothing else I love so well.
I love to work among my peers, I love their leers and jeers and sneers.
I love my computer and its software,
I hug it often though it won’t care.
I love each program and every file
I’d love them more if they worked a while.

“I am happy to be here. I am. I am.
I’m the happiest slave of the firm, I am.
I love this work, I love these chores.
I love the meetings with deadly bores.
I love my job – I’ll say it again – I even love those friendly men.
Those friendly men who’ve come today,
In clean white coats to take me away!!!”

– Anonymous

 

 

Categories
Engagement Marketing

Whatever Happened to Job Satisfaction?

The latest Conference Board report on job satisfaction isn’t good – only 45% of those surveyed say they’re satisfied with their jobs (based on a sample of 5000 US households).

Not a shocker considering the current economy. I know many people unhappy with their work – due to constant downsizing of resources (one can only ‘do more with less’ for so long) and lack of leadership in uncertain times. These folks are just waiting to bolt when the economy improves and better jobs become available.

What surprised me, however, is this latest survey shows an overall decline in job satisfaction over the past 20 years – including times when the economy was robust.

According to The Conference Board:

“The drop in job satisfaction between 1987 [the first year of this survey] and 2009 covers all categories in the survey, from interest in work to job security and crosses all four of the key drivers of employee engagement: job design, organizational health, managerial quality, and extrinsic rewards.”

On second thought, maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. For more than 30 years now I’ve been advocating internal marketing as a way to engage employees and customers.

I’m not sure what the answer is … perhaps growing attention to the study of employee engagement will help reverse this trend. In the meantime, I try to find and learn from the folks who enjoy their workplace. And when that seems to be a challenge, I page through Zappos’ Culture Book to keep from getting discouraged.

 

 

Categories
Engagement

Employees’ Choice Awards for Best Places to Work

Hollywood isn’t the only place where they celebrate the People’s Choice Awards. The workplace also has its share of recognition.

Glassdoor recently released its 2010 Top 50 Best Places to Work list, along with the 25 lowest rated list of companies. What’s significant about these rankings are that they’re based on voluntary employee input. Although it may seem like a potential dumping site for disgruntled employees to vent their anger, Glassdoor provides guidelines to encourage balanced content so employees who just want to complain need to take a constructive approach in sharing their input.

What I like about Glassdoor’s site is that its information helps both employees and employers:

  • Employees can share their feedback anonymously and get access to company reviews.
  • Prospective employees (i.e., job candidates) can also share their interview experience with a company.
  • Employers benefit with access to real-time feedback from current and prospective employees.

The workplace doesn’t need the red carpet as much as it needs a sound listening post. That’s something we can all celebrate.

Categories
Engagement Marketing

Internal Marketing Enhances Intranet Usage

Large companies with thousands of employees depend on their intranets as a critical internal communications medium. As intranet design continues to evolve, companies are also applying internal marketing to better engage employees and promote intranet usage. For example:

  • More employee involvement in improving intranet design and usage via research and beta testing.
  • More social networking to better connect work groups and encourage individual employee participation in shared discussions and contributing content. Also CEO and executive blogs are being positioned to make senior management more approachable and encourage more employee dialog with them.
  • Better introduction and promotion of redesigned intranets to increase employee usage via cafeteria demos and road shows, IT expos, beta testers as site ambassadors, and internal commercials featuring employee users.

Source: Ten Best Intranets of 2010 by Jakob Nielsen. (Special shout-out to Bob Johnson’s Higher Education Marketing Newsletter where I found this intranet article.)